Katawa Who
by thegirlwhowondered
Summary: This wouldn't be the Doctor's first choice of a body (he had hoped to be ginger); but as it turned out, there were some perks to being a girl-even a deaf one. The Doctor goes undercover at Yamaku under the name "Shizune" to investigate a series of time distortions. Do you ever write some things that you just know you'll never live down...?
1. New Everything

**Arc: Hm. All, I guess, except Shizune's. Ends in Kenji's arc. **

**Prompt:_ au where Shizune is the Doctor and Misha is her companion maybe? _by cloudland-swing on Tumblr.**

**This has taken me FOREVER to get around to I know I'm so sorry school and life and medical stuff and stuff keeps getting in the road of computer time bleugh.**

**As usual, " denotes talking, ' denoted sign language.**

**But anywho, lame excuses aside, there is one more final disclaimer: I don't take myself too seriously, you shouldn't either. ;) Enjoy!**

* * *

Oh, Jack would just _love_ this.

The Doctor had always wanted one thing from regeneration: to be ginger. Jack had, for years, been vying for something completely different (and very rare).

It looked like this time, the rogue time agent got his own way.

Although, maybe it wasn't really as bad as all that. There were some perks to being a girl.

Not the least of which was the fashion. The Doctor had always had a healthy, manly appetite for clothing; but it seemed that with oestrogen, came a borderline obsession for it. Oh! And the ability to wear skirts in _any_ time period! Because who wants to wait until the 36th century, really?

Not to mention, the Doctor could say with no small amount of confidence, that he made a _damn fine_ woman.

But there were some downsides to this body. The shot hearing for one. Something must have gone wrong during the regeneration, because when the Doctor woke up, she wasn't able to hear a thing. She'd have to look into fixing that later.

And also – was this a female thing or a this-body-specific thing? – she seemed to have a need to keep everything in perfect order. This obsessive compulsiveness had her changing the TARDIS desktop theme twelve times before she was happy with how neat it was. And also chess – she really enjoyed the competitive edge that came with the seemingly simple game, now more than ever.

One thing was for sure, above everything else: this was going to make for an interesting regeneration.


	2. Co-Inky-Dink?

The Doctor readjusted her glasses as she watched the scene before her unfold.

The bespectacled misogynist known as Kenji was gesturing wildly at Rin Tezuka, the flighty armless artist, who didn't seem bothered at all by his complete lack of composure. The Doctor didn't need her hearing to know that he was shouting.

She watched the subtitles roll across the bottom of her field of vision (Sub Specs always _had_ been one of her favourite inventions of all time) as Kenji continued to prattle on.

"We gotta stick together! The women of this world will stop at nothing until they have us completely under their control."

Rin's eyebrows rose slightly. "I see. But how would they ever manage that?"

"I dunno, man." Kenji lowered his arms to his sides and leaned in closer to Rin, undoubtedly lowering his voice. "But when it happens, I'll be ready."

The Doctor rolled her eyes and spun on her heel, opting to take another route to the schoolgrounds.

Of all the undercover jobs the Doctor had done during her many lives, this was one of the most mundane. She'd spent over a year here now, posing as a student at Yamaku; an Earth Japanese school for disabled youngsters. There had been some strange goings on around this particular point in time; all kinds of wibbly-wobbly distortions were occurring and throwing the time stream out of whack. Parking alone had been hell, and completely by accident, the Doctor had gotten herself stuck here a year-and-a-bit before the distortions actually started, forcing her to spend all this time lying in wait until the problem showed itself.

And boy did it ever make an entrance. In a pure stroke of luck, the problem himself had strode right into her class one fateful morning.

Hisao Nakai.

At least, that's what the Doctor thought was causing the issues. How he could possibly be doing it, she had no clue. But ever since he started at Yamaku, time had been skipping, and whole hours, days, even weeks were being replayed over and over again; and each little jolt looked to revolve around one of his seemingly minor decisions. Coincidence?

Yeah probably, but what else was there to go on?

The distortions were getting worse, meaning that whatever Hisao was doing was about to come to a peak, and possibly rip a hole clean through the fabric of the universe. The Doctor couldn't allow that.

After finally squeezing through the area where the festival was being held (for what, the tenth time? While the humans may not remember, the Doctor recalled every last little time loop they'd all been subjected too), the Doctor took a final glance around to make sure that she wasn't alone before making her way into the adjoining woods.

And there she was; in the middle of a small clearing sat just waiting for her, the Doctor's most present and faithful companion. She smiled and all but bounded forward, in a show of childlike excitement that didn't seem too common with this body, unless she was winning a challenge. The Doctor had just slid the key into the lock when someone tapped her on the shoulder.

'What are you doing, Sicchan? And what is that?'

Damnit...the Doctor bit her lip, trying her hardest to come up with a quick explanation. 'It's...Misha, you shouldn't be here—'

Rather than pay attention to what the Doctor was saying, Misha stepped over to the TARDIS and ran her hand up and down the door, marvelling at how it seemed to hum with energy.

Eventually, Misha turned around to face the Doctor. "WAHAHAHA~" 'I knew you were hiding something, Sicchan! I knew it!'

The Doctor readjusted her glasses and sighed. There was no way out now but to tell Misha the truth and hope she would keep it secret. 'My name isn't Sicchan. I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord, from the planet Gallifrey. There used to be lots just like me...but not anymore. That box is my TARDIS. She can fly anywhere in time and space. Once my job here is done, and the time disturbances I came to inspect have all been fixed, I can leave. And I will. And I have to.'

Misha nodded slowly, taking a minute to absorb all this. Eventually, she nodded, and signed two tiny little letters. 'Ok.'

Ok? That's it? Just...ok? No weird questions? No odd looks? The Doctor knew that Misha had always held a degree if dedication to her, but this was beyond what she expected. Misha didn't even question her. 'Misha, I don't think you're understanding—'

Misha stepped forward, taking the Doctor's hands in her own to shut her up. With a bright grin, she slowly let go. 'Like I said, I knew you were hiding something. I just never knew it would be this amazing!' And with that, Misha wheeled around and bounded into the TARDIS. The Doctor jumped forward, waving her hands frantically and trying to stop Misha, but she was too late. Misha stepped through the doors before the Doctor could stop her, and was frozen in the doorway, her mouth open wide. According to the Doctor's Sub Specs, Misha had gasped.

"Oh, Sicchan," Misha whispered, forgetting for a moment that the Doctor couldn't hear her. The words flashed up in her field of vision though, and the Doctor ran her fingers through her hair.

She stood in front of Misha. 'I'm stuck here. My TARDIS can't move. Because there are so many disturbances in time that it makes her sick just thinking about it. I need to fix whatever it is and I think...I think it revolves around that Nakai kid.'

Misha nodded understandingly (although the look in her eyes clearly said that she barely understood anything). 'Then let's deal with it so you can get your TARDIS-thing moving again!' she announced, bouncing excitedly on her heels.


	3. Supercharged

Misha gazed up at the heavy cloud above them, her pink curls flying about on the wind.

The Doctor tugged on her sleeve, shooting her an urgent look. "This is it," it clearly said. Misha still wasn't quite over the surprise of learning that her best friend was an alien from very far away, but she knew that her Sicchan needed her, and just then, that's what mattered. After all, her Sicchan was all she had.

All around them, people were squealing and yelling, and trying to find shelter before what they assumed was a storm hit.

Misha was barely able to keep up as the Doctor zig-zagged through the crowds, bolted inside the building and zoomed up the stairs to the roof. And there, sitting in a slumped heap, clinging to the fence and cradling a suspicious glass bottle sat Hisao himself. He was sobbing; and with each tear, the wind grew stronger and the sky grew darker.

The Doctor hit herself in the forehead, like she was reprimanding herself. Misha poked her shoulder, and the Doctor fixed her glasses before explaining.

'He's from the planet Torvix, eight billion years into the future and several light years away. Their people were very clever, and very advanced. They could manipulate time, alter the weather with a single thought, even shapeshift. But it came at a price, of course. If just a few of their citizens were having a bad day, it could very nearly rip the world apart. So they did the only thing they could do in that kind of situation; they scattered. All across time and space. Changed their biology, became part of other worlds, other lives. But that kind of power can't just disappear. They'd became too incredible, and this is the result. Hisao thought he could have a normal human life here, but it must be hard waking up one day and having all that thrown into question. His world was already turned upside-down once. Now he's a wreck inside and it's bad enough that he may very well tear a hole through time if he doesn't stop.'

'How do we make him do that?' Misha looked frightened, but very slightly thrilled all at the same time.

'We?' The Doctor shook her head. 'You, Misha. You need to get through to him. Don't worry, I'll tell you what to say; but you need to make sure he listens to you. Got it?'

Misha nodded slowly, that excitement giving way to nerves. 'Yeah. But...why me? I'm not that good with people, Sicchan. I mean, Doctor.'

The Doctor stepped forward and placed her hands on Misha's shoulders, gazing into those bright brown eyes of hers for a full minute before pulling back to answer. 'Anyone who can keep me in check for an entire year can surely reign in a hormonal teenage boy supercharged by incomprehensible alien powers. Easy.'

"WAHAHAHAHA~!" Misha nodded brightly. 'You have a point. I'll give it my best shot then.' She stepped towards Hisao cautiously, peering back at the Doctor to confirm what she needed to say. "Uh...hiya, Hicchan. I know you're not doing so good right now, but we're...we're gonna help you. Ok?"

Hisao shook his head, and when he spoke, Misha could nearly hear him over the wind. "Go away. You don't understand anything. You don't know what it's like, you don't know what I'm going through. You don't know me. _Just piss off_, Misha."

"Hicchan, we-"

"I SAID LEAVE!" Hisao shrank back, and Misha gasped as it looked for a second like the fence may give way.

"You shouldn't be drinking that." Misha glanced back at the Doctor for another brief second before continuing. "The higher the cognitive function of a species, the more alcohol is likely to mess with the brain. You're far too clever to-"

She barely managed to miss being hit by the glass bottle as Hisao hurled it in her direction.

'What do I do?' She signed wildly at the Doctor, who only shrugged helplessly. It seemed that words of comfort were not this body's strong suit.

Misha knew that she had to find something, anything, to say to Hisao. Out of the 26 letters in the alphabet, it was up to her to find the one correct combination that would save all of time, and more importantly, save Sicchan. But what would she know, really? She could barely pass her classes, how was she supposed to save the world?

"You're right, Hicchan," Misha eventually said, her shoulders drooping as she sank to her knees by Hisao. "I...I really don't know. I have no idea what it's like. It must be hard, losing everything you have and everything you love, and then doing it almost all over again. I couldn't imagine doing it. I'm sorry." Her head was ducked so she couldn't see Hisao peer up at her. "I can't begin to imagine what it's like to be you, so I don't know what the right thing to say is." She glanced over at the Doctor before dropping her eyes. "Is it beautiful? Out there, I mean, where you come from. Sicchan says it's very far away and a very long time from now. Will the universe be beautiful one day?"

"More beautiful than you can imagine," Hisao chocked out.

"Sicchan will be off to see it soon. She said that she has to leave when the distortions are fixed; and she will leave in that magic box of hers that can go anywhere in time and space. I'm sorry to ask something of you now, but if it isn't too much trouble…please don't ruin it for her. She says that her magic box is all she has. She deserves more. She deserves something beautiful. Please don't take that away. She saved me; she was a really great friend when no one had ever been kind to me before."

"What'll happen to you when Shizune leaves?" Hisao asked, tilting his head a little and pulling away from the fence. "You two are joined at the hip."

"I guess…" Misha looked up at the sky, biting her lip. She hadn't thought about that. "I guess then I will understand what you're feeling. Maybe, for once in my life, I'll know what the right thing to say is. All thanks to Sicchan."

A minute passed, in total silence bar the wind rattling the fence and whooshing around them. Then five minutes, then a full fifteen. Over time, the wind seemed to calm itself, and the massive cloud in the sky disappeared. Hisao rose to his feet, followed by a mystified-looking Misha, and dried his eyes. "I look forward to it," he said with a weak smile. "No one's been able to understand what I'm going through for a very long time. Thank you for not trying."

Misha's jaw dropped. Had she really done it? Found the right thing to say? Just like that, would everything be ok? Slowly, a smile broke over her face. "You know, Hicchan, I didn't—"

"TRAITOR!"

The door swung open with a loud BANG, and there stood Kenji, who was pointing an accusing finger at Hisao. "I heard everything! You're really an alien! And conspiring with the Student Council, no less! I thought you and me were cool, man. But no, you're just another weapon of the feminist conspiracy to control the world."

"It's not like that!" Misha argued, but Hisao placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave it to me," he whispered as Kenji strode over, right past the Doctor. Misha stepped over to be next to her, watching as Kenji began shouting all kinds of profanities.

Hisao tried shouting over him, until he eventually found it futile and fell silent, obviously expecting Kenji to finish his rant and leave. But he did no such thing.

"I leave our manly picnic for a few minutes to go get some extra food, and I come back to find you conspiring! I never expected this from you man, but I know what I have to do. Remember, you brought this on yourself." And before Hisao could question him, Kenji gave a great big shove.

Misha screamed and she and the Doctor bolted forward to stop him, just as the fence gave way and Hisao plummeted to his death.


	4. Something Beautiful

'There was no way for you to know what Kenji was going to do. I don't think even he knew.'

Misha barely saw the Doctor's hands move out of the corner of her eye. She let out a tiny sigh and watched as the last of the police cars drove away, pulling the blanket around her shoulders tighter. The Doctor did try to say more, but Misha wasn't paying attention, so she let it be for a little while. She knew that Misha would give out whatever was on her mind in her own time; and she did.

'I'm so confused, Sicchan. What do I do now? After everything that's happened today, what will I do once you leave?'

The Doctor already had an answer. 'Come on, I'll show you.'

Naturally, Misha was happy to trail along behind the Doctor as she snuck past the staff who were still trying to reign in the crowds of onlookers; wandered through the woods; and came to a stop in front of the TARDIS. Upon reaching her bright blue box, the Doctor wheeled around to Misha and signed, 'You deserve something beautiful, just as much as I do.'

Misha gasped. 'How did you-'

'Sub Specs, best invention ever,' the Doctor replied, before pulling something small out of her pocket and placing it in Misha's palm, closing her hand around it. With a knowing grin, the Doctor wheeled around and stepped into the TARDIS, leaving the door open. Misha opened her fingers, looking caught between awed and disbelieving, when she saw a small, shining silver key in the palm of her hand.


	5. The Priestess

~_One month later_~

'Here we are, back where we started! And it's only been twenty-four hours; not long enough for us to have been missed.'

Honestly, the Doctor had meant to fix that hearing issue, but stuff happened, and she got busy; and frankly, she rather loved this little setup she had with Misha.

"WAHAHA~!" Misha clapped her hands together brightly, bouncing towards the door with the Doctor trailing behind her.

'This has been the most amazing time!' she gushed as they entered the school gates. 'Can we do this again?'

'As often as you like,' the Doctor promised as they entered the foyer. She was about to add something, when a slimy, massive someone grabbed her from behind.

Misha squealed as the same was done to her. "What's going on? Let me go!" she demanded, kicking and squirming.

"What should we do with 'em?" asked a gruff voice. Misha looked down at the arms around locked her to see that they weren't arms at all. In fact, they looked more like green goo than arms.

"Euuuuuugh."

"Take 'em to the 'igh Priestess," the other decided. "She'll know what t' do with 'em."

Misha and the Doctor found themselves helpless as they were dragged through the familiar-looking halls, until they were brought to the door of what Misha was sure was some kind of tea room. Sitting on a beanbag out front was none other than Hanako, with her face buried in her book. She jumped as the two aliens clinging onto Misha and the Doctor approached.

"We request an audience with the 'igh Priestess," the one holding Misha announced.

Hanako nodded, before addressing the captive girls. "Y-you w-will speak only whe-when spoken to, and afford the High Pr-Priestess all the respect she deserves, o-or you will be executed on the spot." And with those (somehow, not as frightening as they were meant to be) words, Hanako pushed the door open.

The tea room had been done up in red silk, flowers, gentle music and a great big throne in the middle of the room. And on that throne sat an almost ethereal, peaceful-looking blonde, with a vague look in her blue eyes.

Oh, the Doctor knew that blonde well. It was the same blonde who'd been reduced to fighting petty battles with her over the Student Council, because she had no other means to fight. She was the same blonde who was so adored among the school, known for being such a sweetheart; but, oh, that couldn't be any further from the truth. Lilly Satou, they called her. Did they think she was as sweet as the flower for which she was named _now_?

"What's going on, Hanako, dear?" the Master asked, bringing a cup of tea to her lips. After a long minute of silence, she returned the cup to her saucer with a sigh. "It's that deaf bitch, isn't it?"


End file.
